


Adoption

by coolkid_ko



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:36:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7790689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolkid_ko/pseuds/coolkid_ko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amethyst and Jasper go for a walk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adoption

**Author's Note:**

> I'm part of a Steven Universe roleplay group on Skype where I play Amethyst. Our current plot is a human AU where the gems are all children orphans. Jasper, Peridot, and Amethyst are all close friends, but only Amethyst gets adopted. Needless to say it causes a little tension. Jasper is 13, Amethyst is 10.
> 
> I'm mostly posting this for other members of that group to read, but you're welcome to check it out and I hope you enjoy it!

The chilly autumn morning made Amethyst’s breath fog up as she waited outside the orphanage. She’d arrived earlier than expected; the front door was still locked. She’d supposed she could sneak around to the broken window in the back, but the idea gave her pause. It wasn’t her house anymore. Breaking in now could mean serious trouble. It wasn’t something she felt willing to risk with a police officer for a mom.

She pulled her down parka closer to her face and reached up to knock again when she heard the lock click. She stepped back and the door swung open with a creak, revealing Jasper on the other side. Tall, with messy, long hair not unlike Amethyst’s save for the sandy color. Her skin was dark but dappled with lighter stripes and splotches from vitiligo. She wore jeans, a hoodie, and boots; not nearly as bundled up as Amethyst, but still weather-appropriate.

The pair locked eyes, and Amethyst flashed the girl a smile.

“Hey Jasper! Wanna play? Where’s Peridot?”

Jasper looked over her tiny friend and smirked. “Grounded for putting gum in Sister Jane’s hair again. What’s with the getup? You look like a purple marshmallow.”

Amethyst looked down at herself. The bulky parka _did_ seem like a bitch much for October, but her new mother had insisted. She’d drawn the line at mittens and a hat, however.

“Sapphire said I had to.” She mumbled, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Cuz it’s cold.”

Amused, Jasper reached out and ruffled Amethyst’s unruly hair. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.” She suggested, breezing by and shutting the door behind her. “Don’t want baby Ame to get too cold.”

Amethyst’s face scrunched up in anger, her cheeks still red. “I’m not a baby.” She grumbled, but followed in step behind her friend all the same.

The pair made their way down the street side-by-side. Jasper smiled down at Amethyst and ruffled her bushy hair again.

“So, how’s adopted life?” She asked. “We haven’t seen you in days. You too good for us orphans now?”

Her tone had been teasing, but the comment made Amethyst look away in discomfort. “No,” she insisted, “I’ve just been busy. There’s so much _stuff_ you gotta do when you have parents.” Struck with a thought, she looked up at Jasper with wide, eager eyes. “Ruby and Sapphire took me to a school and I got to see all the classrooms and teachers and junk. The music teacher was super cool! She wants me to play drums in the band!”

Jasper followed quietly, smiling down at her friend. A twinge of envy plucked at her insides, but she swallowed it back, straining to keep a happy face. “That’s great, kiddo.” She said. “I’m sure you’ll be great at drums.”

Amethyst nodded happily. “Sapphire says I gotta keep my grades up if I wanna be in the band, though. I’m gonna ask Peridot to help me with my homework. That way I can come over all the time!”

Jasper shoved her fists into her pockets, shuffling along quietly. It sounded like Amethyst _had_ been busy in the few weeks she’d been adopted. Amethyst never discussed her life before Sister Jane’s, but drawing conclusions from their year together Jasper had surmised that Amethyst had probably never been in an actual school before. It must have been quite the experience. She wanted to be happy for her little friend, but she still couldn’t seem to shake the upset feeling in her stomach.

Amethyst continued, “Then I had to go to all these doctors appointments. I had to get like, six shots! And I had all these cavities! It was the worst.”

She looked up at Jasper when she noticed her friend’s silence. “Jasper?” She asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. “Are you even listening to me?”

Jasper jumped at the accusation, glancing guiltily down at Amethyst. “Sorry, kid.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

Amethyst studied Jasper cautiously, the gears in her head turning. “Jasper,” she began with trepidation, “Are you mad at me?”

“What?” Jasper balked, “What made you think that?”

Amethyst looked down at her shoes, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. “… Cuz I got adopted and you didn’t.” She explained softly, turning her big eyes back to Jasper. “I’m sorry, I really wanted them to adopt you and Peri too but Sapphire said three’s a crowd. You’ll get adopted though, I know it.”

The words struck Jasper like a knife to the chest. She offered the young girl a sympathetic look, her insides twisting with guilt. She hated to lie to someone as honest as Amethyst, but it didn’t seem fair to taint her heart with the truth. Amethyst didn’t need to know how she really felt, the resentment she hated to carry inside her. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Of course Amethyst deserved the life she’d been handed. That didn’t make it hurt less, though. Jasper knew the truth. She didn’t have a chance. The odds were stacked against her; she was too old, too tall, too… _diseased-looking,_ to put it in the words of Sister Jane. She’d be trapped in the system forever, and she knew it.

She chewed her lip nervously, unable to meet Amethyst’s eyes. “Maybe.” She agreed weakly, but the answer felt inadequate.

“No, not maybe!” Amethyst cried, outraged. “Who wouldn’t wanna adopt you? You’re pretty and strong and you always know what to do!”

“Amethyst-“

“You always take the fall when Peri and I do something stupid!”

_“Amethyst-“_

“And you have cool skin stripes, like a tiger! Come on, man! Just you wait, someday someone’s gonna show up and they’re gonna adopt you so hard it’ll make your head spi-“

_“AMETHYST!”_ Jasper screamed, shocking Amethyst into silence. The two stood quietly as Jasper composed herself. Her body felt tight, anxious to leave the situation. Amethyst didn’t understand. Maybe she’d never understand. They weren’t _cool._ How many times had she been stared at, how many looks of horror had she been subjected to by concerned potential parents, quietly whispering to Sister Jane questions of her level of contagiousness. How many people had pointed at her from afar, thinking she wouldn’t notice? She couldn’t go one day without being reminded of her condition. Her “stripes” weren’t cool to her, they _repulsed_ her. “Just… stop.”

Amethyst scowled, balling her hands into fists. “Stop _what?_ Telling the truth? You’re so cool, Jasper, and someday you’re gonna get adopted, I just know it!”

“No, I’m not.” Jasper sneered.

“Why not?!” Amethyst barked.  

_“Because no one wants to adopt a freak like me!”_

_“THEY ADOPTED ME!”_

Amethyst’s words rang throughout the street, scattering nearby birds. The two stood in terrified silence, staring one another down. Jasper felt raw. Tears erupted from the corners of Amethyst’s eyes and she watched them trickle down to her chin, dripping onto the ground beneath her.

“Do you… feel like a freak, Amethyst?”

Amethyst scowled through her tears, running the sleeve of her arm beneath her nose. “Do you?”

Jasper dropped to her knees. Amethyst rushed over to her, burying her face in the older girl’s chest. Jasper enveloped her arms around Amethyst’s small, trembling body and buried her face in her hair. Amethyst hugged her back.


End file.
